|
Unfortunately however, United seemed to give their opponents too much respect in the early stages of the game and after going a goal behind just ninety seconds in, the home side found themselves struggling to get into the game until midway through the first half. After that time however Steve Tilson’s men realised that the could easy compete with the UEFA Cup entrants and gave as good as they got against a well organised team and despite eventually conceding for a second time, it was probably the Shrimpers who enjoyed the best of possession.
Tilson made just five substitutions during the match, four of them at half time, with the United supporters treated to what we assume will become the Shrimpers first choice defensive line-up with Nicky Nicolau, Duncan Jupp, Andy Edwards and Adam Barrett all completing the whole ninety minutes.
Another plus was the all round performance of Michael Husbands. The ex-Aston Villa youngster has vowed to fight for a place in the starting line-up and, having been given the whole match to impress, did so with a fantastically determined performance.
However, despite the plusses, it was very disappointing to see Southend conceded a very soft goal in just the second minute when tricky winger Paul Ifill was allowed to stroll into the area before rounding Bart Griemink and slotting the ball into an unguarded South Stand net.
As Dennis Wise’s side dominated the opening exchanges Danielle Dichio lobed a 20 yard effort over the crossbar before needlessly getting himself involved in a spot of pushing with Husbands.
It was then the lively Husbands, undeterred following his mis-match with huge frontman Dichio, who created the home sides first opportunity when his fierce drive was blocked by the face of defender Matt Lawrence. Then, with play switching back to the other end, Dutchman Griemink had to be on his toes to palm out a Neil Harris shot before Nicolau raced in to clear the danger for good.
Ifill and Blues Mark Gower then exchanged shots which flew just wayward of the upright before another Gower effort, from a 25 yard free kick, brought a fine reflex stop out of former Norwich City shot-stopper Andy Marshall on 38 minutes. The last chance of the first [period then saw Husbands snapshot belted clear by skipper Lawrence.
Half time: Southend United 0 Millwall 1
It was after the interval that the Seasiders really began to come into the game and virtually matched the South Londoners all the way through, with just a well-taken second goal separating the sides.
Michael Kightly saw an effort hacked clear by the Lions rearguard following a tidy Jim Corbett lay-off before Darryl Flahavan did well to acrobatically push away a firm Harris header from a Peter Sweeney free kick.
Husbands, who was really teasing the Millwall defence on the right flank, played a decent ball across the face of goal but Lewis Hunt, who arrived permantly in the summer from Derby County, drilled his effoer wide of the target.
The second goal then arrived with 64 minutes on the clock. Ifill found some space in the centre of the park and played a fantastic defence-splitting through ball which set ex-Chelsea midfielder Jody Morris through and the dimutive player made no mistake when finishing off a pacey run with a neat shot past Flahavan into the bottom right hand corner.
Southend continued to attack their opponents however, and husbands - yet again – was in the thick of the action as he shot over the crossbar of substitute keeper Graham Stack after neat build-up play involving Kightly and Corbett.
At the other end however the last real chance, eleven minutes from time, saw Flahavan do well to save a low Ifill effort following a neat run and cut-ack.
Unfortunately this was a match which ended in defeat for United, but despite not creating very many clear cut chances it’s far from doom and gloom for Tilson’s troops who can rest their minds with the knowledge that they will most definitely come up against poorer defences in League Two over the course of the current campaign.
MATCH FACTS
SOUTHEND UNITED...(0) 0 MILLWALL (1) 2
Pre-Season Friendly, Wednesday, 21st July 2004 @ Roots Hall
Line-ups:
The Shrimpers (4-4-2; silver shirts with white trim, navy shorts, navy socks):- Bart Griemink (Darryl Flahavan 46); Duncan Jupp, Nicky Nicolau, Andy Edwards, Adam Barrett; Kevin Maher (Michael Kightly 46), Jim Corbett, Michael Husbands, Mark Gower (Lawroe Dudfield 72); Tesfaye Bramble (Lewis Hunt 46), Wayne Gray (Che Wilson 46). Unused subs – Stuart Williams, Matthew Judge, Ben Surey.
The Lions (4-4-2; blue shirts with white sleeves, white shorts, blue socks):- Andy Marshall (Graham Stack 46); Alan Dunne, Dave Livermore, Matt Lawrence, Darren Ward; Marvin Elliott, Jody Morris (Curtis Weston 80), Peter Sweeney, Paul Ifill; Neil Harris (Barry Cogan 63), Danielle Dichio. Unused subs – Joe Dolan, Dennis Wise.
Goals: Millwall: Ifill 2 (ran into the penalty area before rounding Griemink and tapping into an empty net; inside area; timed at 01:10), Morris 64 (neat run into the area finished with a low drive into the bottom right hand corner; inside area; timed at 63:54).
Total Goal Efforts: Southend 8, Millwall 11
Shots/headers on target: Southend 1, Millwall 5
Shots/headers off target: Southend 3, Millwall 4
Blocked shots: Southend 4, Millwall 2
Hit Woodwork: Southend 0, Millwall 0
Corners: Southend 8, Millwall 5
Free Kicks: Southend 17, Millwall 21
Caught Offside: Southend 1, Millwall 3
Match Time:
First Half: 45:53. Second Half: 46:02. Total: 91:55
Indicated stoppage time: First Half: 1 minute (Actual: 00:53), Second Half: 1 minute (01:02)
Referee: Mike Russell (Hertfordshire), 3 out of 10 – A referee who will be new to the League this season, Russell was, in a word, pathetic! This guy didn’t seem to grasp the concept of a pre-season friendly and simply warded a free kick for everything, contact or not. Heaven help us all if we come across this buerk in League Two this season.
Attendance: 2,302 (approx 325 away fans)
Programme Cover: Nicky Nicolau.
Mark Wallis
www.thelittlegazette.com
NB. Shots/headers on target includes all goals and Free Kicks includes all penalties.